Do not fear cuts

Steve Bundred, Audit Commission CEO, writes in the Observer of the £42.9bn government debt in 2010/11:

“That forecast for central government interest payments is, incidentally, more than 40% greater than the actual 2007/08 level of £30bn. It is more than our total defence spending of £35.7bn in 2007/08, and much more than the £31bn we spent on schools in that year.The figure represents around £1,700 for every household in the UK …”

The figure represents much more than £1,700 to the taxpayer, given the number who are officially unemployed or on benefits, and those who have removed themselves from employment, refusing to pay the government any more tax.Say the figure is double, per taxpayer. That means nearly £300 per month extra, per taxpayer. Then consider that inflation, which is bound to rise, salaries fall and the jobless total increase up to the end of 2011, possibly.

If servicing our debt becomes more expensive due to the market’s lack of faith in the government’s seriousness to get finances under control, taxpayers will be paying considerably more.

This is no time to have a megalomaniac at the helm, particularly one who is so firmly rooted in neverland.